TeamSwift

I've been a member of various auto message boards for 10 years now, have had the pleasure of meeting lots of cool people, got parts, etc, never been ripped off. Dealt with what seemed to be an honest person in Tom Fellenberg, spt-3x1.0 here. He replied to a post where I was looking for a trans, had done biz with other members here. Sent $300, kept getting excuses for the delay, finally he disappears, no response, kept my $300 of course. What really ticks me off about this is that I am a firm believer in integrity in life, and nothing makes me more angry than a liar or a thief. I would never screw someone over like this. So, just p-oed and venting here, and hoping I can save someone else the pain of being shafted. FYI.

hi mcbrickell,

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good luck

Feedback left in proper forum.

Thanks for the heads up.

Wish I had money to eat! ( stomach growling )

Something must have happened. He's been quite a regular on here

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Kind of what I thought. Tried to give maximum benefit of the doubt, but when someone vanishes with $300, after 6 weeks it gets hard to think of them in a positive light.

if you sent the money using paypal you can claim it back, otherwise, you sent him a money order, so you have his address wich means you could probably deposite a lawsuit against him or something...

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I'M DRIVING A LADA NOW!!!

I think it has to be within 30days ... as a general rule, on day 29 if I haven't got the goods in my hand I always file a dispute

I'll keep my eyes open for his geo...

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'92 Swift GT, '94 Swift GT, '88 Turbo Sprint, '98 Swift ... all sold years ago

I sent a US Postal money order since that is how he requested funds. Should have used PayPal, I might have had a leg to stand on. A lawsuit across state lines against an individual without a written contract is probably a tough one to win, and big expense to do it.

Actually, I have a 2-week break from school coming up, and was thinking about flying out there on a cheap ticket for a couple hundred bucks and attempting to settle in person. I'd likely spend on the flight and hotel what I lost, but it would be worth it to me just in principle so someone learned that there are consequences for dishonesty. I think I might look into flight costs. At the very least, if I ran into Tom, and still could not retreive money, my entertainment value would likely be worth it...

it would be very easy to settle that dispute since you paid using a USPS money order. simply call your local postmaster and he will provide you with the paperwork to file a federal mail fraud charge. from there it becomes a federal matter which crosses state boundaries with no problem. the postal police take over and they will make every effort to recover your money. they also charge the person who cashes the money order with mail fraud.

i have had some wierd things happen with internet transactions both as a seller and a buyer. i've had items heading both directions across the US/ Canadian border delayed or disappear in customs several times. i've also had UPS destroy items and never send notification. i once had a transmission seep a little gear oil in transit and that caused UPS to set the box aside and require the shipper to pick it up. he never did and i never got the shipment. paypal's investigation concluded that the seller had fulfilled his obligation after he presented a tracking number. i never got my money back and never got the tranny.

i hope that things end up on a positive note for you.

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1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

USPS money order are definitively much safer than paypal. Do just as Richard said and go fill the paperwork. You have no idea how much possibilities of criminal charge can change someone's mood.

If you used paypal, you'd have practically no recourse, with the exception of filing a useless claim against him.
Paypal is handy, but thats about it.

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Contact 3tech: [email protected]

Paypal's buyer protection is a scam in itself. I've filed several times. And all the person has to say is "i sent it", then give no proof.. and they close the case and tell you where to shove it.

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i still cant believe he intentionally ripped you off. something must have happened. last i heard he got moved to day shift from grave yard for the first time in 4 years and he was having some pretty big family problems.

i "think" i am a pretty good judge of a person. and i have met , hung out and had deals going with tom, and he just doesnt seem like a thief. if anything a little iffy on reliability and promptness, but not a lowlife thief.

i still believe he will come through, either with your money or the trans.

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GO FAST TURN LEFT!! IF YOU HAVE TO TURN RIGHT, YOU NEED A ROUND OF WEDGE!!!

here is my sig. karma if you look

PayPal gives you 45 days to file a claim as my wife just found out after filing a claim on an eBay purchase on what turned out to be day 46! She hadn't filed sooner as the seller had been in contact with us every time we emailed them on it. As far as a money order goes, can you check to see if it has been cashed? If not, you should be able to cancel it.

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"daddy's car vroom vroom"
My garage.......http://www.teamswift.net/garage.php?mode=view_vehicle&CID=103
My personal gallery....http://teamswift.net/gallery/album.php?album_id=242
Currently driving a 1996 Geo Metro 1.0L
Mods coming...............

I had to use the paypal thing to cancel transactions and it worked, the seller had his account closed by ebay so there was nearly no way I couldn't win...

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I'M DRIVING A LADA NOW!!!

I agree, I am typically a decent judge of character and would have bet money, in fact did bet money, that Tom was stand-up. For a while there, at least we had communication, so I thought we were OK, and I am very willing to be flexible with people. However, we are going on 2 months now where I am out $300 and have no item. It is getting old begging for the trans with no response, and at this point I have to find a trans locally so the trans does me no good anymore, as I can't wait forever. So, I would hope Tom would have the integrity to say, yeah, I messed up, here's your $$$ back since I could not deliver in remotely a timely manner as promised. If he does that, I'm willing to say OK, Tom gets a thumbs up for doing the right thing. Going without the $300 is actually a hardship for me, too, so it is affecting my life negatively. I'm not made of money to blow twice for a job, and I'm forced now to have gone and bought another transmission, so have spent twice for the job. This further irritates me in that I think I paid Tom top dollar for the transmission, which I was happy to do if the item would have arrived correct and promptly.

Anyway, just frustrated with the whole deal. Don't really want to bash on someone here, but in this case I feel it justified since I have been nothing but accomodating with numerous dealys and excuses. At some point the person in question has to ante up and make things right IMHO. I would not expect someone to handle the situation diffferently than I would if it were reversed. I would have found a way by now to make it right with the buyer in a concrete way if it meant working two jobs to do it, or cutting my cable TV off, or whatever to get the money to pay the person back that. Just the kind of person I am.

you can pay to file a tracer on the money order which takes up to 90 days and the filing fee is not refundable. if you file a fraud claim, the postal police file the tracer, get the results nearly immediately, and it costs you nothing.

i've sent postal money orders which seem to have been legitimately lost in the mail, requested the trace, and applied to have the cash refunded. that whole process took about 3 months and cost some bucks for the tracer.

i'm posting this as general info and not to fuel any conflict among members. i tend to believe in the inate goodness of people.

_________________
1991 Blue Geo Metro Convertible highly modified 1.0L Turbo3 5 spd. - 1991 Red Geo Metro Convertible customized with a Twincam 5 spd.

My Turbo3 Project
My Cardomain Page -Ol' Blue
My YouTube Channel
My Photo Gallery
SAAB Sonett II

Wow, I didn't realize it was that much work. I also didn't know that they charged a nominal fee to do so either. Is there a difference between a Canadian money order from Canada Post and a US one via USPS? I have only ever sent 2 money orders and have had no problems with either so I'm not too familiar with the cancelation terms.

_________________
"daddy's car vroom vroom"
My garage.......http://www.teamswift.net/garage.php?mode=view_vehicle&CID=103
My personal gallery....http://teamswift.net/gallery/album.php?album_id=242
Currently driving a 1996 Geo Metro 1.0L
Mods coming...............

I also tend to believe in the innate goodness of folks, or I would have never sent $300 to a person across the USA in good faith. Like I said, the lines of communication were open and I was more than patient keeping in mind this whole thing started in late April.

At a certain point, though, I think you have to call a spade a spade as they say.

Thanks for the heads up on the MO trace. The person in question here emailed me when there was still contact that the MO had arrived and had been cashed, so once it is cashed, done deal.

Hmm...only about $300 for a flight to WA from KC...might have to make a little trip out of this one after all.

if you have his address, look up his phone number through whitepages.com and do a reverse address lookup. Honestly, I think something has happened to him. He used to be such a regular. I would probably feel the same way you do. I, just like a lot of other members here are pretty much in denial that Tom would do this intentionally. I know you are out $300 but what if something tragic has happened to him. While we are looking at the money, somebody could be trying to figure out how their child will take losing a father. Not wishing anything bad but there alot of different ways this thing could turn out to be.

I agree. If indeed something horrible has happened to Tom, I certainly extend my sympathy. Correct in that this could turn out many ways. I would say that the chance there was an outright disaster that utterly destroyed Tom's life is possible but fairly small in the big scheme of things and I would not wish that on anyone of course. It is as much the principle as the money to me. I will not die from losing $300, but it is a major inconvenience at this point for me as funds are quite tight, and the total lack of communication is the issue here. Also is the issue that for a month after I sent the money, I still had email contact with Tom and he indicated each time that he would send the transmission in a day or two but never bothered to actually do it. He had the funds to send it, and was getting around just fine, certainly enough to have lifted a finger and sent the part many times over, but neglected to do so prior to something happening if indeed something major happened. So, if in fact there is a gravely serious and legit reason for ditching me, OK. I would tend to believe that this scenario is relatively unlikely on average, though, and again there was quite some time there with contact that the part could have easily been sent, so I know that for 3-4 weeks the issue was not that Tom had vanished, but rather that he had not bothered to send the transmission.

Reverse phone number search turns up nothing...

darn it

Maybe someone on here that knows him could swing by his place to see if everything is OK?

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"daddy's car vroom vroom"
My garage.......http://www.teamswift.net/garage.php?mode=view_vehicle&CID=103
My personal gallery....http://teamswift.net/gallery/album.php?album_id=242
Currently driving a 1996 Geo Metro 1.0L
Mods coming...............

Anyone live near Puyallup, WA, 98373, and want to take a ride by Tom's address and see if it looks like he's OK? Some of the posts suggest that maybe something ill has befallen him, and if so, that would be regrettable based on his previous good name here. If anyone wants to check it out and see if he is OK to alleviate concern here, I have the address. You don't have to mention a thing about my situation, just go by and see if it looks like he is all right.

God I hope not he's good people
I hope he had a brian fart or something
this suck's

Maybe he hit the lottery ? and freaked
I would do A drive by but I live on a Island
it would be a 4hr round trip